From Westpark exodus to Bay Vista arrivals

Crews work on building that will hold the first 151 affordable housing units in the Bay Vista development on Wednesday. Residents will be in the units by the end of 2011.

MEEGAN M. REID

The overall plan for Bay Vista calls for various uses on the old Westpark property, which are currently at different levels of completion and planning. On the map:
1. Future commercial development; 2. Bay Vista West, a mix of affordable and market-rate housing; 3. The Summit, an affordable housing complex; 4. The Preserve; a 15-acre open space with trails; 5. Firs; an existing low-income housing complex for seniors; 6. Bay Vista Commons; affordable assisted-living and memory-care center; 7. Bay Vista South; mixed market-rate and affordable town homes; 8. Habitat for Humanity site

Graphic by Scripps Texas

BREMERTON - Skeptics said it couldn't be done.

Certainly now there is no promise Bay Vista — potentially the biggest public-private housing project on the peninsula — will be built out completely.

But enormous progress has been made by Bremerton Housing Authority, owner of the 82-acre former Westpark. Preleasing for the first 151 affordable units starts Tuesday. Residents will be in by the end of 2011. Occupancy is expected to quickly hit 100 percent.

If reality matches the dream, Bay Vista might one day could hold 800 homes, just a fourth of them affordable units built first. The rest would be privately developed market-rate homes. Private developers also would transform the north tip of Bay Vista into commercial space, with a grocery store, shops and offices.

But private investment in the home lots hasn't happened yet. For now, it's just the affordable housing.

"The greatest thing to me is we fulfilled our commitment to the community to make change to Westpark," said Kurt Wiest, BHA executive director.

First dibs for the units go to the 484 families relocated out of Westpark to make way for Bay Vista. Other residents will come from BHA's closed subsidized-housing list.

The affordable units coming online this year include The Summit at Bay Vista and Bay Vista South.

The Summit is a four-story, 83-unit apartment building along Highway 3 near Kitsap Way. It will have one- and two-bedroom units for people who qualify for rent assistance under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 program, as well as other government rent-subsidy programs. Construction is wrapping up.

Bay Vista South has 68 larger townhouse-style units for families. Foundations are being poured and walls are going up.

The Summit and Bay Vista South each cost $20 million. They were funded with a $20 million HUD Hope VI grant, stimulus money, BHA's own funds, and support from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Bank of America.

Subsidized rents for qualifying residents will range from $209 for a small one-bedroom apartment to $1,216 for a four-bedroom house, according to BHA.

TAX CREDITS TO THE RESCUE

Initially, Bay Vista was supposed to be built in part with proceeds from private investors buying lots for market-rate houses. Because that didn't happen, BHA turned to tax credits from the Housing Finance Commission for money infusions, to help move along the smaller affordable-housing component of Bay Vista.

Wiest called the tax credits "a great opportunity" that prevented the stalling of Bay Vista.

Other affordable-housing projects are planned. They include Bay Vista West with 69 family-sized units. Construction could start in August. Seventy units of subsidized senior housing could be built after in the northeast corner.

Bay Vista most likely will include six Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County homes. According to Habitat Executive Director Lori Oberlander, BHA has offered to sell Habitat the $65,000 lots for $15,000, with BHA subsidizing the rest.

"If everything goes as planned, we should be building houses out there probably by May or June of this year," Oberlander said.

Not counting the Habitat homes, BHA would have about 290 affordable units at Bay Vista.

TOO MUCH WHITE SPACE?

To date, not one residential or commercial lot has been sold to a private developer, threatening to make Bay Vista a much less dense project than what's on paper.

Wiest is optimistic, saying talks are under way with two private developers, and that purchase-and-sale papers are being looked over.

One is an Atlanta-based developer interested in six acres north of The Summit to develop possibly 238 market-rate apartment units. That developer is being attracted by the potential to rent to sailors and military-base workers, according to Wiest.

The other private developer is interested in about eight acres in the north commercial tip.

On another front, a community center to serve Bay Vista is planned.

BHA, Olympic College and Kitsap Community Resources (KCR) are applying for $4 million in HUD grants to build the 11,000-square-foot center.

It would be immediately east of Bay Vista on an acre BHA owns behind the Chevron station at Kitsap Way and Oyster Bay Avenue.

If the funds are obtained, Olympic College would use some of the space for classes. KCR could move its Head Start facility from West Hills Elementary School to the center, Wiest said.

Meanwhile, BHA continues to demolish the old Westpark homes, built in World War II to house shipyard workers.

Two-thirds of the 571 units have been demolished. BHA has largely abandoned recycling the scrap because it became too expensive.

Bay Vista will have 15 acres in its center of for open space and trails.

If ever completely built out, it will have been a $300 million endeavor.

The builder is Walsh Construction Co., which built the massive Salishan low-income neighborhood in Tacoma. About a fourth of Walsh subcontractors are Kitsap-based, according to Nancy Rees Austin, BHA contracts director. The Summit, and Bay Vista South and West will have created 350 construction jobs.

Time will tell whether BHA's approach works to first go with affordable housing then private investment to fill out Bay Vista.

"We're building confidence in this redevelopment project," Wiest said.